Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Below our team have collated various questions often asked by users of the SiteSmart tools – use the product tabs to see if your question has already been answered.

Don’t see your question below?

Use our support centre to find the relevant technical and product enquiry contact details and speak to our team today.

YellowJacket

SmartWaste

Sales and installation

Do you offer a free demo?

Yes we do. Fill out the request a demo form at the bottom of the page highlighting your interest in a YellowJacket demo and one of our team will get back to you.

How long will it be before we’re up and running?

YellowJacket comes ready to work. There is no configuration and no software to download. You can get started within minutes.

Who is YellowJacket for?

YellowJacket is suitable for organisations of all sizes and their supply chain across the entire construction sector whether it be demolition, build, fit-out, refurb or fm.

What can I do to overcome resistance to change in our organisation?

Our Organisational Development team can help you identify people in the organisation whose networks, relationships and personalities make them capable of engaging others and enabling change. These people act as your change agents, helping you introduce the new system effectively and painlessly.

Quality, environmental, health and safety systems features

Can I get a full summary of everything I’m working on?

You access everything from your personal dashboard. You can see and act on everything you work on and communicate with everyone you need to within your company, commission or supply chain.

Can I see my outstanding actions and those I’ve raised for others?

You can see your outstanding actions at a glance. And the status of actions you have assigned to individuals, suppliers or contractors.

Does the system tell me about the upcoming audits and inspections?

You can see when internal or third party inspections are due. And any actions they raise.

How do I easily find the information I’m looking for?

You can filter quality, environmental, health and safety systems data to show specific types such as incidents, audits, inspections and actions. And filter actions according to status. Or create a favourites list.

How do I know about upcoming events and actions?

Switching to calendar view alerts you to upcoming events and actions that need closing out in the days or weeks ahead.

What about recording audits, inspections and incidents?

You can record an audit, inspection or incident.

Can I assign and manage actions?

Users can raise actions and assign them to other users within their organisation or to contractors working with them on individual commissions. They can give the action a close-out date. The action appears on the relevant person’s dashboard.

Can I link back-up material to actions and observations?

Add any documentation or images to support and clarify the actions you raise.

Can I schedule inspections?

You can schedule inspections on the calendar and tailor the content to the specific job. These appear as events on other people’s dashboards.

Can I export reports?

You can easily export graphs and charts. The following formats are covered: CSV, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, HTML and TIFF.

Training and support

What training do I get?

Courses at all levels take place on a regular basis. The courses are:

General user

Super user

Train the trainer

Report writing

Customised training

Online training

We also run bespoke training days designed to suit your needs. You decide what you want depending on the needs of your organisation and users. See our training page.

Do we need any IT support in-house?

No. YellowJacket is an out-of-the-box application. You do not need any in-house IT support.

Where can I get help on technical issues?

Technical issues are rare as YellowJacket is a cloud application. As long as your internet connection is working, you will be able to access the system. Call +44 (0)3330 147878 or email us if you need help. We guarantee a response within 24 hours.

Where can I get YellowJacket product advice?

Talk to your account manager, or call out SiteSmart team on +44 (0)3330 430 644 or email us. If you want to learn about some of the tool’s more advanced functions, take a look at training courses.

Implementing the change

What can I do to overcome resistance to change in our organisation?

Our Organisational Development team can help you identify people in the organisation whose networks, relationships and personalities make them capable of engaging others and enabling change. These people act as your change agents, helping you introduce the new system effectively and painlessly.

How do I implement YellowJacket effectively and with minimum disruption?

Our Organisational Development team will help with the implementation and embedding of YellowJacket. We’ll consider how best to engage with the people who will implement, shape and maintain YellowJacket, recommend options for training, and plan, monitor, record and action YellowJacket’s implementation programme.

Safety, security, and technical requirements

How secure is my data?

YellowJacket uses the same level of security certification as your bank, so your site and data are always secure. Every session is encrypted and secure.

What is your record on system uptime?

As part of the contract we guarantee 99.9% uptime so you can be sure of always being able to access your data. Occasional system upgrades are carried out at weekends – we will always warn you well in advance.

What are the technical requirements?

YellowJacket is a cloud application, so all you need is Internet Explorer 8 or above, or FireFox 3.6 or above, and good access to the internet. You can log into your personal dashboard anytime, anywhere in the world and see real time information.

If you don’t have a YellowJacket memberhsip, call 03330 430 644 or email us

What happens if I get a phone call while I’m creating an observation/action/inspection/audit?

You can take your call as normal and resume your task exactly where you left off. You will not lose any data.

Does the mobile app take up a lot of storage space?

No. The app is very small, taking up only around 6MB of storage space on your phone or tablet. Images can take up a lot of space so the app automatically deletes the ones you have used without storing them on your device.

When I log in the app seems to take a while to load up, is something wrong?

Long response times usually mean large numbers of actions or lots of commissions. To avoid this, close out actions as soon as possible and deregister from any commissions you no longer need.

We’re sharing devices at our company/project. Do I need to do anything before I give the device to my colleague?

Yes. All you need to do is deregister your account via the menu button on the top right hand corner. This simple process ensures the next person can see their own data when they log in.

Which devices can I use to access the YellowJacket app?

Most Android, Windows and Apple phones and Android and Apple tablets are currently supported. The app is not currently supported on Blackberrys or Windows Surface tablets.

Will audits and inspections question templates be transferred automatically to the mobile app?

Yes. If the templates are on the company desktop they will be available on the mobile app. Every time you log in to the mobile app it will check for updates and bring down any new data from question sets and any new actions that have been assigned to you.

Have you considered the health and safety aspect of using a mobile device while working on a site or other workplace prone to hazards?

Before users log into the app they will be warned with the following message:

Please ensure you are in a safe location and that is appropriate to use your mobile device to record data/information before using the YellowJacket app.

Can I start an activity on the mobile app and finish it on a desktop?

No. Once an observation / action / audit / inspection has been started on either your desktop or the mobile app it must be completed from the device / medium it was started on.

Can I use the mobile app offline?

Yes, the app is designed to be used offline. Data synchronises automatically when a data connection becomes available. Users can choose whether they wish to use WiFi or 3G/4G for their data connection or both. This feature is managed from the settings menu within the app and can be set up on first login and subsequently changed as required.

Do you offer a free demo?

Yes we do. Fill out the request a demo form at the bottom of the page highlighting your interest in a SmartWaste demo and one of our team will get back to you.

What is SmartWaste?

SmartWaste is an online environmental reporting tool designed by BRE to help the construction industry monitor and report on areas such as waste generation and management, site waste management plans, energy and water use, sustainable timber and material supply and carbon impacts from transport. This online tool enables you to store and report each project’s data and information via a company SmartWaste account. Data can also be reported at business unit level which can be useful if your business is split into divisions that focus on certain activities or geographical regions.

What are the major benefits of using SmartWaste?

There are both economic and environmental benefits. Our customers have seen significant financial benefits. These include reduced landfill tax and reduced haulage and disposal costs. There are many obvious benefits to the environment and corporate social responsibility in any organisation committing to environmental and waste targets and monitoring their improvement over time.

What types of business can use SmartWaste?

SmartWaste is used by construction, demolition and industrial businesses, waste management companies and local government.

How do I get a SmartWaste account?

To use SmartWaste you will need to become a member which provides you with company membership and online account. Membership is renewed yearly. There are a number of membership levels available. For more information visit our contact us page, contact us at sitesmart@bre.co.uk, or on 03330 430 644, where one of the team will help you find the level of membership which best suits your company needs.

Already have a SmartWaste account and have a question?

Why is the % waste diverted from landfill figure lower than I am expecting on my project dashboard (‘Actual waste sent offsite’ section)?

There could be a couple of reasons why the % waste diverted from landfill figure appears to be lower than you would expect. If you follow the steps below this will help you run a few checks on your data to determine the cause:

Check whether waste has incorrectly been marked as sent to landfill directly: From the project dashboard, click the “Reporting” tab and then select “Waste data log” from the left hand menu. Use the filters on the waste data log page by selecting “Disposal” from the drop down list in the box “Waste management route” then click “Update”. This will filter the log to show all waste data entries recorded as “sent to landfill directly”. Check if the waste management route “landfill directly” has been selected correctly, e.g. mixed construction and demolition waste is normally sent to a waste facility for recovery rather than sent to landfill directly. If the waste management route is incorrect, you can make amendments via this waste data log page by clicking on the date of the waste entry.

Check whether there are recycling/recovery rates entered for all waste entries which have been marked as sent for recovery:

If a waste entry is created with the waste management route “Recovery” offsite but there is not a recycling/recovery rate entered for the waste destination covering that date, then SmartWaste will mark all of that waste as going to landfill. There are a number of steps to check project data to find out if this is the case.

On “Waste data log” page, use the filters again, this time selecting “Recovery” from the drop down list in the box “Waste management route” then click “Update”. This will filter the log to show all waste data entries recorded as “sent to recovery”.

Click the button “Download as CSV” at the bottom of the page to open a file of the data. In the downloaded file, sort by the waste carrier name and destination name and find the relevant ‘date of transfer’ information for waste entries using the carriers/destinations. You can then use this information to find out if a recovery rate is given for the waste destinations used for those dates of entry.

From the waste management contractor list at the top tier/company homepage go to the “Contractors” tab and “Waste management contractors”. Find the relevant waste carrier name in the list and click “View”. In the “Waste facility/site details” section, click “Add recovery rate” next to the destination name. This takes you to the “Recovery rate records” page where you can check if a recycling/recovery rate is given for the waste facility for all of the dates when your waste was sent to this destination for recovery. If a recycling/recovery rate is missing for a certain period, you can add it via this page. Repeat this for all waste carriers/destinations for the project in question.

For example, you may have a recycling/recovery rate recorded for March to May 2016 for the waste destination, but you also sent waste to the destination in June, July and August 2016. Because you have not given a recycling/recovery rate for June, July and August for the waste destination, SmartWaste will assume that 0% of this waste was diverted from landfill (i.e. 100% sent to landfill). This affects the % of waste diverted from landfill figure on your project dashboard, but this is instantly rectified by adding recycling/recovery rates that cover all periods of waste data entry.

I have forgotten my username or password, what should I do?

If you have forgotten your username and/or password, please contact the SmartWaste team at BRE (smartwaste@bre.co.uk). The team will ask you to clarify a number of items for security purposes before they can give you your log on details. Please have to hand as much of the following information as possible:

Account name (usually the company name)

Your company address

Any part of your username or password that you think you can remember

Your e-mail address

Your telephone number

If you have forgotten your password, please click on the “Forgotten your password?” link on the log in page, fill in the details and we will reset your password for you and send you an email.

If you have forgotten both your username and password, please contact the SmartWaste team via smartwaste@bre.co.uk or 01923 664471. We will ask you to clarify a number of items for security purposes before we can email you your log in details. Please have to hand as much of the following information as possible:

Account name (usually the company name)

Your company address

Any part of your username or password that you think you can remember

Your e-mail address

Your telephone number

How do I add a new project? I can’t see the ‘add new project’ button.

Each SmartWaste user has a specific user permission level which determines what activities you can undertake to find out what user level you click on the ‘Welcome’ button in the top right hand corner. Only super users ad company admin users will be able to see an ‘add new project’ button on the company homepage. Clicking on the button will bring up a form to complete with details about the new project, allowing the project to be created.

If your user permission level is not super user or company admin please contact a user of this level to set up the project for you (you can find your company’s super user by clicking on the ‘Welcome’ button on the top right of the screen and looking at the ‘My Company’ information.

When filling out the ‘add new project’ form, it won’t let me save it, a box appears saying ‘project value must contain a number’. Why does it ask this when I have entered a value in the project value/cost field?

The project value/cost field can only contain a number. If you have entered any punctuation such as commas or £ sign, please remove these and try saving again; it should then save okay.

My project records waste in volume, how can I change it to record waste in tonnes? (or vice versa)

When setting up the project, you choose whether you want to record waste data in volume or tonnes. Once you have made this choice, you can’t change it yourself. If you would like to change the way in which waste is recorded on your project, you will need to contact the SmartWaste team via smartwaste@bre.co.uk or 01923 664471. However, please be aware that we can only change a project from volume to tonnes (or vice versa) if no data has yet been added to your project.

How can I delete a project from my account?

Any user with company admin user permissions or higher can delete a project from your SmartWaste account. This is done from the project homepage by clicking on the “Edit project details” button and then the “Delete” button at the bottom of the page which appears.

I have added a new user, why can’t they access their project?

Additional users can be added at different points depending on how your account is structured e.g. multi-tier/level account or standard/single tier account. Once users have been added, you need to give them access to the tiers and projects they will be working on.

For multi-tier/level accounts: These accounts include a group level at the top, followed by management unit levels and/or business unit levels and then projects beneath the lowest tier. Users can be set up at any tier/level. If you set up a user at the top tier, then you will need to assign the user to every tier below that they need to access. If the user permission is lower than company admin user level, then they will also need to be assigned to specific projects.

For a standard/single tier account: These accounts have a single company level and then projects beneath this. Company admin level users can access all projects in this account. However, for users with permission level lower than company admin, you will need to assign them to specific projects.

To assign users to a tier (e.g. business unit level or management unit level): From the “Users” tab at the business unit/management unit homepage click on the “Users” tab and then click “Assign users” button to select which users to assign to the tier.

To assign one user to multiple projects: From the tier/company homepage, click on the “Users” tab and then click “Edit” next to the relevant user in the user list. On the page that appears scroll to the “Assigned projects” section which lists all the projects that this user is assigned to. Click on the “Assign” button and tick which projects you wish to assign the user to and click “Save”.

To assign one or more users to one project: From the project dashboard you can assign multiple users to that project. Click on the “Assigning” tab. From the left hand menu click “Users” or click the “Assign” button within the “Users” pod on the page. This will bring up a list of all the users on your account, select the users you want to assign to the project by ticking the box next to their name and clicking ”Save”.

Why doesn’t my contractor/supplier appear in the drop down lists on add data pages and within my Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP)?

There are different contractors and suppliers which can be set up within SmartWaste including:

These can all be added at different points depending on how your account is structured e.g. multi-tier/level account or standard/single tier account. Once contractors/suppliers have been added, you need to assign them to the tiers and projects they will be used by. Assigning the contractors/suppliers to projects will mean that their name will appear in drop down lists on add data pages and also in the Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP).

Contractors and suppliers can be added at different points depending on how your account is structured e.g. multi-tier/level account or standard/single tier account. Once contractors/suppliers have been added, you need to assign them to the tiers and projects they will be used by. Assigning the contractor/supplier to projects will mean that the subcontractor name will appear in drop down lists on add data pages and in the Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP). For waste management contractors, please ensure that you assign both the contractor/carrier AND the relevant waste destinations/facilities.

For multi-tier/level accounts: Contractors and suppliers can be set up at any tier/level. If you set up a contractor/supplier at the top tier, then you will need to assign them to every tier and project below that they need to be used by. If a contractor/supplier is set up at a lower level tier then they are automatically assigned to this tier and stored in the top tier list. If this contractor/supplier also needs to be used by other tiers then they will need to be assigned to these relevant tiers. Once assigned to relevant tiers, the contractor/supplier will need to be assigned to the projects they are to be used on.

For a standard/single tier account: Contractors and suppliers are added at the company level and will then need to be assigned to the projects they are to be used on.

To assign contractors/suppliers to a tier (e.g. business unit level or management unit level): From the “Contractors” tab at the business unit/management unit homepage click on the “Contractors” tab and from the left hand menu select the relevant type of contractor/supplier i.e. “Waste management contractors”, “Subcontractors” or “Material suppliers”. Then click “Assign to business unit” button to select which contractors/suppliers to assign to the tier. For waste management contractors, please ensure that you assign both the contractor/carrier AND the relevant waste destinations/facilities.

To assign one contractor/supplier to multiple projects: From the tier/company homepage you can assign a contractor/supplier to more than one project. Click on the “Contractors” tab and from the left hand menu select the relevant type of contractor/supplier i.e. “Waste management contractors”, “Subcontractors” or “Material suppliers”. Click on “View” next to the relevant contractor/supplier in the list. On the page that appears scroll to the “Assigned projects” section which lists all the projects that this contractor/supplier is assigned to. Click on the “Assign” button and tick which projects you wish to assign the contractor/supplier to and click “Save”.

To assign one or more contractors/suppliers to one project: From the project dashboard you can assign multiple contractors/suppliers to that project. Click on the “Assigning” tab. From the left hand menu select the relevant type of contractor/supplier i.e. “Waste management contractors”, “Subcontractors” or “Material suppliers” or click the “Assign” button within the relevant pod on the page. This will bring up a list of all the contractors/suppliers on your account, select the contractors/suppliers you want to assign to the project by ticking the box next to their name and clicking ”Save”.

Why doesn’t my waste carrier/destination appear in the drop down list on the ‘Add Waste Data’ page or within my SWMP?

Waste management contractors includes waste carriers and waste destinations (waste facilities/sites e.g. transfer stations), these have to be added at the company level first. Once they have been added, you will need to assign them to the relevant projects. Assigning waste carriers and destinations to projects will mean that their names will appear in drop down lists on the add waste data page and within the SWMP.

There are two ways you can assign waste carriers and destinations:

From the “Contractors” tab at the company level you can assign waste carriers and destinations to more than one project. From the company home page, click on the “Contractors” tab and then click on “Waste management contractors” in the left hand menu. Click on “View” next to the relevant waste contractor in the list. On the page that appears scroll to the “Assigned projects” section which lists all the projects that this waste contractor is assigned to. Click on the “Assign” button and tick which projects you wish to assign the carrier and all its destinations to and click “Save”.

From the project homepage you can assign multiple waste carriers and destinations to a project. To do this, from the company homepage click on the project name you wish to assign waste carriers and destinations to. This will take you to the project home page. Once here, click on the “Assigning” tab. From the left hand menu click “Waste management contractors” or click the “Assign” button within the “Waste management contractors” pod on the page. This will bring up a list of all the waste carriers on your account, with their waste destinations indented below. If you wish the carrier and destination(s) to be assigned, make sure you select all those that you wish to assign to the project by ticking the box next to their name and clicking “Save”.

I have entered data incorrectly on the ‘Add Waste Data’ page, how can I change/amend it or delete it?

Users with Company admin permissions and higher can amend data entered on the add waste data page. To do this, go to the waste data log for the relevant project which can be found in the project “Reporting” tab. The waste data log shows a record of each waste movements for that project, listed by the date the waste left site.

To amend a record, click on the date of the relevant entry in the log to bring up the original waste data form that was filled in. Make the necessary changes and click the “Add” button. This will save your changes and take you back to the waste data log so that you can review the amendment and continue.

To delete a record, click on the date of the relevant entry in the log to bring the original waste data form that was filled in. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Delete” button. This will delete the record and take you back to the waste data log so that you can review the amended log and continue.

I have set up a waste management contractor twice, how can I remove one?

If you notice that you have set up the same waste management contractor more than once, please check to confirm which of the additional waste contractors you wish to remove. You then have a several options:

You can mark one of the waste contractors as “not in use” which will move the contractor to a separate list of waste contractors under the main list which are marked as “Not in use”. This stops these waste contractors from being able to be assigned to any new projects, but any existing data to which they are linked will not change or be lost. To do this, go to the “Contractors” tab at the company level and select “Waste management contractors” from the left hand menu. Click on “View” next to the relevant contractor name then click on “Edit” under the “Waste management contractor details” section. On the screen that appears, tick the “Not in use” box and click “Save”.

If no additional information has been entered for the contractor (such as carrier licences or destinations) and the contractor has not been assigned to any projects, then a Company admin user (or higher) can delete the waste contractor. To do this, go to the “Contractors” tab at the company level and select “Waste management contractors” from the left hand menu. Click on “View” next to the relevant contractor name then click on “Delete” under the “Waste management contractor details” section. A confirmation page will appear, click on “Delete” to confirm deletion. You cannot delete a waste contractor which has already been assigned to projects or which has a waste destinations associated with it.

If the waste contractor has information such as carrier licences or destinations associated with it, then contact the SmartWaste team via smartwaste@bre.co.uk or 01923 664471 and we will be able to check if we can delete the additional waste contractor(s) for you. The team will have to check that the contractor has not been link to any waste arisings data before removal can take place. This will ensure that your waste data is not affected.

How can I enter recycling/recovery rates given to me by my waste contractor?

Waste management contractors/carriers and their waste destinations (facilities/sites e.g. transfer station) have to be added at the company level first. Once the waste contractor has been added, a waste destination can be created underneath it for which you can then enter recycling rates. These can be added by time periods as one overall figure for the waste destination and by rates for specified waste types. If you know the split between the amount recycled and amount sent for energy recovery, you can record this too.

To do this, go to the “Contractors” tab at the company level and select “Waste management contractors” from the left hand menu. Click on “View” next to the relevant contractor name then in the “Waste facility/site details” section, next to the relevant waste destination, click on “Add recovery rate”. Click the “Add” button on the screen that appears and then enter your recycling and/or recovery rates and click “Save”.

How do I get the recycling rates from my waste contractor to link up to my skip/container on the ‘Add Waste Data’ page?

On the add waste data page, make sure you select the correct waste destination (waste facility/site) for which you have entered the recycling rate. Ensure that you select “recovery offsite” as the waste management route. Enter all the other details as normal and click “Add”. As long as you have a recycling rate for a time period which includes the date of your waste entry then the recycling rate will be applied to that container because you have selected “recovery offsite” and the relevant waste destination.

How can I get a print out of my SWMP from SmartWaste?

From the relevant project’s home page, go to the “SWMP” tab. This will take you to the SWMP home page which shows you a summary checklist of the stages of the SWMP you have completed. Underneath the checklist you will see a ‘Print your SWMP report as a PDF’ button, click this to pull the data from all of your 9 SWMP tabs together into one PDF document that can be downloaded, saved and printed.